Consider this polynomial, where a is an unknown real number.

To find the value of 'a', follow these procedures: Braulio's synthetic division should proceed as follows: -1 | 1 5 a -3 11 Here, the remainder represents (a + 10). Hence, (a + 10) = 17, leading to a = 7. Braulio inaccurately calculated 'a' because he used 1 rather than -1. Zahra's calculation using the remainder theorem is as follows: p(x) = x⁴ + 5x³ + ax² - 3x + 11, p(-1) = (-1)⁴ + 5(-1)³ + a(-1)² - 3(-1) + 11 = 1 - 5 + a + 3 + 11 = (a + 10). Since the solution's remainder is 17, it follows that (a + 10) = 17, yielding a = 7. Zahra also made a mistake in determining 'a' due to incorrect handling of the powers of (-1).